After securing his first win of the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike season, Glenn Irwin says that it was the best way to finish his time with Be Wiser Ducati.
The 28-year-old led from start-to-finish in the opening race of the weekend at Brands Hatch. Irwin moves to JG Speedfit Kawasaki in 2019 after three years with Paul Bird’s team.
Irwin began the race on the front row, in second, and a fantastic launch off the line saw him go past Jake Dixon and take the lead of the race. Throughout the race he would face challenges from Dixon and then from his brother, Andrew Irwin, on the second Ducati, however neither riders were able to get the better of him.
Speaking about his victory, a delighted Irwin said:
“It was good to be on the front row after qualifying and we were feeling confident ahead of the race. I’ve been within half a second of a race win about six or seven times this year, so I said to the team it was now or never and everything fell into place. My timer on the dash wasn’t working so it was difficult to know what the gap was to the rider behind me, so I set quite a slow pace to begin with.
“I then saw Andrew’s pit board with ‘P2’ on it and I didn’t want him behind me as he’s pretty mad, but I knew with his lack of experience he’d be harder on the tyre than me so pushed hard in the final third of the race. It allowed me to pull away and it’s the best way to finish my time with the team as Paul Bird has given me so much over the last three years.”
Irwin’s victory has also strengthened his grip on third spot in the championship standings. With only two races remaining he now has a 13-point advantage over Josh Brookes.
The final two races of the 2018 season are scheduled to take place at 12:45 and 16:00 respectively.
